If would appear that someone born out of wedlock, in those times, whether raised by the mother or the father would be stigmatized in one way or the other. He was a bastard son andabandoned by his mother, in Italy at that time. Peter

Before embarking on any project involving an adoptive ancestor or one born outside marriage, it is important that the researcher acknowledge and comprehend several factors. From 1860 until 1929, the Italian state (i.e. the Kingdom of Italy) did not recognize Catholic marriages. Although it is true that both ecclesiastical and civil marriages were performed for most spousal unions in certain parts of Italy (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) in the decades before 1860, the Kingdom of Italy refused to recognize ecclesiastical marriages altogether. This means that an act of birth from, for example, 1875, might refer to a child as the son of "an unwed mother" who in fact was married in church but not at the town hall. Terms of one of the Lateran Treaties granted retroactive state recognition of these ecclesiastical marriages in 1929. Therefore, such acts must be confirmed by consultation of parochial records.

Hearsay may provide certain general information, but its legitimate research value usually correlates in some way (often inversely) to its social value. An unwed mother might have claimed, perhaps long after her child's birth and far away from the locality where she resided when she gave birth, that the natural father was a local aristocrat; families often perpetuated such stories to salvage the dignity of both mother and child. A genealogist, however, would require more than a merely circumstantial "allegation" of paternity in such a case-namely, a formal act of recognition sworn by the natural father before the vital statistics registrar.

An act of recognition would not have "legitimized" such a child for purposes such as succession to a title of nobility, though it may have allowed him, if only under very particular conditions, to inherit certain other paternal property, but in any event a married man would not likely consent to acknowledge publicly that he had committed adultery or fornication. The principle of legitimacy relates to crown (statutory) and church (canon) laws too complex to be described in detail here. Illegitimacy in Italy has never been as rigidly defined as in English law, which distinguishes, for example, between "bastards" and "adulterine bastards."

I task that who has written this article does not know the Italian things well.
Until 1871 not exist communal registries for birth certificates, deaths, marriages.
The reghistries they began from september 1871 for law.
Therefore after Italian unit.
Before of 1860, Italy was composed of many small states, and every State had its laws, similar to those of the others is, but not equal, therefore some Italian states were more modern of others and some Common Italians had already the registries.
After the 1871 registries they were obbligates for all.
But all the Common did not obey and therefore they much later began to have the registries also 1871.
But also if Italy before 1860, was composed of many small states, was joined from a great truth, that is Catholic Church, that he conserved the own relative registries you to the Sacrament (baptisms, wedding, deaths)from very very ancient age.
Therefore these catholic acts (certificate of baptism, marriages etc) was used also for political and commonal acts .
Before 1860, Every small state of Italy has always recognized the marriages in church.
It has always recognized the born children outside of the wedding like " natural sons ".
These natural sons, could be legitimate from the father or not be legitimate from father.

In Italy only legitimation shape is that of father.
A child legitimate from the father is not a bastard, why he has the last name of the father, only who has value in Italy, but conserve this child a spot in its pedigree, that is not to know from who has been give birth.
In Italy they are calls bastard those children to you who do not have the last name of father, but only that one of the mother.

Therefore a born child outside of the wedding, and legitimate from father simply result out to be, for the Church and the Italian State, a natural son (that is been born from persons not married neither in church neither in Common)legitimate from father, and with all the rights of law, for the CHURCH: been born from union illegitimate, that is without the sacramento of the wedding. This is only a religious aspect that goes separated from that of political Italian State in ever age, in ever time, before and after 1860 or 1871...
suanj